After Earth: Where Was the 2013 Movie Filmed?

Co-written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, ‘After Earth’ is a 2013 post-apocalyptic action movie set after a millennium where people live on a new planet, Nova Prime, aka Gen. The narrative revolves around Nova Prime’s most prominent family, headed by Cypher Raige, with a teenage son named Kitai. With the burden and pressure of so many expectations on the young son’s shoulders, the father-son relationship starts deteriorating slowly with each passing day. To mend their relationship before it gets too late, Cypher and Kitai embark on an adventurous trip. However, what was supposed to be a fun outing turns out to be the stuff of their nightmares when their aircraft crashes on Earth’s surface.

Now, Cypher and Kitai must trust each other wholly or suffer the consequences. Apart from the real-life father-son duo of Will Smith and Jaden Smith, the sci-fi movie stars other talented cast members, including Sophie Okonedo, Zoë Kravitz, Glenn Morshower, and Kristofer Hivju. Most of the movie unfolds in the fictional world of Nova Prime and the post-apocalyptic Earth 1,000 years into the future. The significant transition between the two worlds reflects the change in the protagonists’ lives. So, it is natural for you to wonder where ‘After Earth’ was filmed.

After Earth Filming Locations

‘After Earth’ was filmed in California, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Utah, Costa Rica, Switzerland, and Iceland, specifically in Humboldt County, Philadelphia metropolitan area, Sierra County, Moab, San Carlos, and Kanton Bern. As per reports, the principal photography for the Will Smith starrer commenced in February 2012 and wrapped up in May of the same year. So, without further ado, let’s follow Cypher and Kitai on their thrilling journey and get a detailed account of all the locations that appear in the movie!

Humboldt County, California

The production team of ‘After Earth’ set up camp in California’s Humboldt County for a few days. Specifically, they utilized the premises of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park at 17119 Avenue of the Giants in the census-designated place of Weott to portray the landscape of the hostile surface of Earth where Cypher and Kitai crash land in the initial scenes. The director and his team had to follow several guidelines to minimize their impact on the natural entities in the park, including the largest collection of old-growth redwoods in the world.

Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, Pennsylvania

Several pivotal sequences for ‘After Earth’ were also lensed in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, including in the eponymous city. In Philadelphia, The Budd Company at 2450 West Hunting Park Avenue served as one of the filming sites for the movie. However, it got defunct a couple of years later. Furthermore, the cast and crew members utilized the facilities of the Sun Center Studios at 250 North Commerce Drive in the township of Aston. Spread across 33 acres, the film studio is home to three different sound stages, enough parking space, perimeter security, and security cameras. All these amenities make it a suitable production location for various film projects.

San Carlos, Costa Rica

A significant portion of ‘After Earth’ was taped in Costa Rica’s San Carlos, including in the district of La Fortuna. For instance, several volcano and forest scenes were also recorded on location in and around the Arenal Volcano National Park at F76C+FPQ in La Fortuna. Situated in the central part of Costa Rica, the National Park is famous for birds, as many of the 850 species identified in the country can be found within its vicinity.

Other Locations

For filming purposes, the production team of the Jaden Smith starrer traveled to other locations across the country. For instance, Spaceport America at Co Road A021, Truth or Consequences, in New Mexico’s Sierra County, features in a few scenes. The red rock formations in the city of Moab in Utah can be spotted in the backdrop of scenes set on the planet of Nova Prime.

To incorporate some additional portions in the movie, especially some unique landscapes to portray another planet, the cast and crew set up camp in Switzerland’s Canton of Bern. You can spot the iconic Eiger mountain in the backdrop of several key scenes. Moreover, the glaciers of Iceland feature for a while in ‘After Earth.’